Ibiza: 2023 PTO Tour events will be broadcast live in a record 195 territories, reaching 425 million Households and be translated into 22 languages when the curtain rises on the first-ever PTO European Open in Ibiza tomorrow (6 May).
Led by the PTO’s broadcast partnerships with Warner Bros. Discovery, beIN Sport, DAZN, ESPN and Fox Australia and supported by a raft of new deals including: free to air with both RTVE in Spain and CBC in Canada; and then FujiTV in Japan, Dubai Sports, Sharjah Sports and Bahrain TV in MENA, SuperSport in Sub Saharan Africa and South Africa, Sky SPORT in New Zealand plus four streaming deals in China (iQiyi, Youku, Bilibili and Huya), the season will start with the eyes of sports fans around the world watching two compelling 100km races set against a balmy Balearic backdrop.
Returning TV anchor Alex Payne will lead an experienced broadcast presentation team that includes lead commentator John Gooden and expert analysis from former Olympic triathletes Vicky Holland and Helen Jenkins.
PTO Chief Marketing Officer Tim Godfrey commented:
“We’re certainly ahead of where we expected to be with the broadcast distribution of the PTO Tour, which is a great validation of the product last year, in only our first professional season. The goal was to take Triathlon and the exploits of the world’s best professional triathletes to a broader audience of sports fans, through putting on a series of high profile, high prize fund races on mainstream sports networks. Being able to show them start lists like the ones we have this week in Ibiza has been a significant ingredient in securing those deals. Whatever the sport, fans want to see the best athletes going head-to-head.”
The inaugural PTO European Open men’s field features all three of the Olympic gold medallists in the sport since 2008, with Tokyo 2020 winner and PTO World #1 Kristian Blummenfelt taking on 2008 Olympic champion Jan Frodeno – who is widely acknowledged as Triathlon’s G.O.A.T – and double Olympic champion (2012 & 2016) Alistair Brownlee. It will be the first time the three have all been on a start line together.
In the women’s race, the stacked field is led by PTO World #1 Ashleigh Gentle and features 8 of the top 10 PTO World Ranked athletes. Both start lists can be found here.
How to Watch
Fans in Europe and the Indian Subcontinent can watch the PTO European Open exclusively via Eurosport, Discovery+ or GCN+. Those in the rest of the world can watch for free and ad-free on PTO+, via a selection of TV broadcasters or on YouTube in selected territories. More details here
For the first time, the PTO will be giving fans a rich second-screen experience with a new Live Race Dashboard featuring live race data and live blogging. The Live Race Dashboard’s leaderboard will be updated throughout the PTO European Open showing athletes’ positions, latest time splits, paces and more. Meanwhile the PTO’s award-winning social team will be providing on-the-ground live blogging to keep fans up to date with the latest race stories.
You can also watch the PTO’s preview show for both races, Countdown To Ibiza, here.
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For Further Information
Professional Triathletes Organisation
Anthony Scammell E: [email protected]
About the Professional Triathletes Organisation
The PTO is a new body, co-owned by the professional athletes, seeking to elevate and grow the sport of Triathlon and take it to the next level. Each PTO Open is raced over 100km (2km swim, 80km bike and 18km run). 2023 PTO Tour races announced to date include: the PTO European Open on 6 May, the PTO US Open in Milwaukee on 4-5 August and the PTO Asian Open in Singapore on 19-20 August. The season will be underpinned by the new PTO World Rankings, helping to create a compelling season-long narrative in the sport for the first time.
